Faced with persistent difficulties in accessing credit for African small and medium-sized enterprises, the Democratic Republic of Congo has set out in Dakar with an ambition: to make financial guarantees a more structuring lever for entrepreneurial development on the continent.

.

Laurent Munzemba, Director General of the Congolese Entrepreneurship Guarantee Fund (FOGEC), participated in the APIGA International Conference on May 11 and 12, 2026, organized in partnership with FONGIP of Senegal. The meeting brought together guarantee institutions, technical and financial partners, and banking stakeholders to discuss financing mechanisms for SMEs in Africa.

In his address, he highlighted FOGEC's experience and the vision of the Democratic Republic of Congo, under the leadership of President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, regarding the promotion of entrepreneurship and support for the private sector. He emphasized the importance of SMEs in African economies, while also underscoring the persistent obstacles related to access to financing.

“SMEs represent more than 90% of the African economic fabric,” he stated, while lamenting their difficulties in accessing credit. He believes that guarantee mechanisms must now evolve into tools capable of strengthening trust between banks and entrepreneurs. “Africa must transform risk into trust,” he added.

Laurent Munzemba also stressed the need to strengthen synergies between African guarantee funds and multilateral partners in order to broaden the impact of existing mechanisms. "With greater coordination, we will be able to reach more SMEs," he emphasized.

In the DRC, FOGEC continues to deploy its mechanisms through partnerships with banks and microfinance institutions. It notably supports women entrepreneurs, young project leaders, the agricultural sector, and mining subcontracting, with a portfolio under development estimated at nearly $200 million.